House prosecutors seek opening of BIR records in Duterte impeachment case

The House prosecution panel has asked the Senate impeachment court to open a sealed box containing tax records related to Vice President Sara Duterte and her husband, lawyer Manases “Mans” Carpio, arguing that doing so would help expedite the impeachment proceedings.

The request was confirmed on Wednesday by House prosecutor and Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who said the proposal was included in a manifestation submitted to Senate Secretary General and impeachment court clerk Renato Bantug.

According to De Lima, opening the box at the pre-trial stage would allow prosecutors and defense lawyers to properly inventory and mark the documents before the formal trial begins.

“Since we are in the marking of exhibits, this is the proper stage where it could be considered appropriate to open it so that there could be a proper inventory of the contents of that particular BIR box,” De Lima told reporters.

“We think that would aid also in more efficient and more expeditious conduct of trial if it were opened now during this stage of pre-trial,” she added.

The sealed green box was brought to the House Committee on Justice by Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Charlito Mendoza during a hearing on 29 April in compliance with a subpoena issued by the panel.

At the time, lawmakers opted not to inspect its contents, citing provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code that prohibit the unauthorized disclosure of taxpayer information. Instead, the matter was deferred to the Senate impeachment court.

De Lima said the issue is now under the jurisdiction of the Senate following the transmission of impeachment documents.

“I think the Senate Secretary has to get the clearance from the court or at least from the presiding officer, regarding the sealed BIR box,” she said.

“Because if it does not get opened now, it will only be opened during the trial where it will be pre-marked for use of both parties,” she added.

The lawmaker said the documents are believed to be tax records relevant to allegations involving Duterte's supposed unexplained wealth, one of the four Articles of Impeachment consolidated by the House Committee on Justice.

The other articles concern allegations involving the misuse of confidential funds, bribery of public officials and threats against political figures.

Wednesday marked the fourth day of the impeachment pre-trial conference, which began on 18 June.

Because of the volume of documents that still need to be marked, prosecutors have also requested permission from the Senate impeachment court to continue the proceedings on Friday and Saturday.